Player Column – Josh Pullman Round 4

ALTHOUGH I’ve enjoyed reading the players columns from the boys in the past, it didn’t occur to me that I’d be asked to do my own. My career in media has officially begun.

Maybe I’ll get to the dizzying heights of Craig White and run my own weekly segment one day. Pully’s Plug I reckon I’ll call it.

It’s been great to see the club get off to a promising start. Getting early wins on the board is the best kind of feedback after a tough, smart and team-oriented pre-season. I was able to play in the first two games, but an unexpected (k)ankle injury kept me sidelined watching the boys play well again last week.

Watching without being able to contribute doesn’t get easier as your career goes on. I’m a big fan of our performance maintenance and injury management dream-team in Physio Michael Swan, S&C Head Coach Mikey Vega, Club Doc Rachel Harris and Head Trainer Bronte Gorfin. They’ve all had a hand in keeping our 2015 injury list super-low all considered, and for comparatively minor injuries like mine the turnaround time in getting back up and running is impressive. I’m feeling ready to go.

We’ve got the Black Ducks this week. I played seven or eight years of development, reserves, and senior football there up until my then girlfriend, now wife, Anna went over to Brisbane for three years between 2011 and 2013.

Greg Harding and Tim Geappen were great mentors of mine back then, and it was a strange feeling going up against them for the first time at Bassendean last year. Kyle Hams gets to experience that (again?) this week, from what I hear on Whitey’s Whispers he’s expecting a sledge or three.

I daresay he’ll give at least as much as he gets. Funnily enough, their skipper and key defender Tallan Ames is my manager at work, so there’s always some healthy banter kicking around the office when the Dogs are taking on the Swans.

Side-shows and jokes aside, this week we get an opportunity to test ourselves out against a team that played finals footy last year.

We’re looking forward to it.